Alibaba Pictures announces to acquire Damai and transition into the flagship offline entertainment platform of the Alibaba Digital Media and Entertainment Group
- Written by The Bulletin
HONG KONG SAR - Media OutReach - 19 September 2023 - Alibaba Pictures Group Limited ("Alibaba Pictures" or the "Company," HKEX: 1060), an integrated entertainment platform featuring "content + technology" under the Alibaba Digital Media and Entertainment Group, and Alibaba Investment Limited, a wholly-owned subsidiary of Alibaba Group Holding Limited ("Alibaba Group") (NYSE: BABA and HKEX: 9988 (HKD counter) and 89988 (RMB counter)), are pleased to announce the entry into a share purchase agreement, pursuant to which Alibaba Pictures had conditionally agreed to acquire the entire equity stake of Pony Media Holdings Inc.
(the "Target Company"), the operator of "Damai" brand. By further expanding the upstream presence of "Damai" brand in live entertainment industry value chain, such as events production and promotion, venue operation and artist management, the Company aims to strengthen scale advantages and barriers to entry, and further build brand awareness for its offline entertainment business.
Through "Damai" brand, the Target Company (along with its subsidiaries) is a leading provider of live performances, including concerts, musical festivals, livehouse performances, plays, sports events and exhibitions in the PRC. The Target Company engages in the full life cycle of live performances, including production, promotion and ticketing, and served over 1.8 million events with over 100 million registered customers cumulatively.
"We believe this transaction heralds a new chapter for the new Alibaba Pictures. Before today's announcement, we have already established deep connection with Damai through our exclusive service agreement, and accumulated over 20 million Taomai VIP members to date," said Mr. Jie Li, President of Alibaba Pictures. "Following the transaction, we will strive to integrate our resources, expand presence along industry value chain, drive development through technology innovation, and ultimately create value to our customers and shareholders."
The aggregate consideration shall be US$167 million (equivalent to approximately HK$1,307 million) and shall be satisfied by the Company allotting and issuing 2,513,028,847 consideration shares to Alibaba Investment Limited at an issue price of HK$0.52 per share, based on the volume weighted average price of the Company's ordinary shares listed on The Stock Exchange of Hong Kong Limited (the "Stock Exchange") for thirty (30) consecutive trading days immediately preceding the agreement date. Immediately after the issue of the consideration shares, Alibaba Group will increase its shareholding in Alibaba Pictures to approximately 54.26%.
J.P. Morgan Securities (Asia Pacific) Limited acted as Financial Adviser to the Company.
Subject to the fulfillment of certain conditions precedent, including obtaining approval from Independent Shareholders in a special general meeting, the transaction is expected to be closed in the fourth quarter of 2023. For more information, please refer to Company's announcement published on the Stock Exchange dated September 19, 2023.
Hashtag: #AlibabaPictures
The issuer is solely responsible for the content of this announcement.
About Alibaba Pictures
Alibaba Pictures was incorporated in Bermuda and its shares are listed on the Main Board of the Stock Exchange. The Company is an entertainment platform driven by the Internet at its core, with full coverage across the industry chain. The core business of the Group includes three major segments: content, technology and IP merchandising and commercialization. These segments encompass (i) investment in and production and distribution of entertainment content, such as film and drama series, both domestically and internationally; (ii) digitalization in the entertainment sector, including platform ticketing, digital intelligence business and other technology products; and (iii) centered around content IP, provision of professional services such as IP development and operation, and production and distribution of IP derivatives, respectively.
For more information, please visit https://ir.alibabapictures.com/
